GCCEC chefs get behind #ThinkEatSave

2 July 2015

Did you know roughly one third of the food produced for human consumption (approx. 1.3 billion tonnes) is wasted in Australia and around the world every day?

OzHarvest, Australia’s leading food rescue organisation has teamed up with the United Nations to address the urgent issue of food waste which is currently costing Australians up to $10 billion each year and we’ve joined in too!

The inaugural Gold Coast Think.Eat.Save event will see OzHarvest partner with the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre’s (GCCEC) award-winning chefs and the talented bakers from Goldstein Bake Shop to create delicious meals for a free lunch at The 4217 precinct in Surfers on Monday 27 July.

The public are invited to enjoy a hearty hot meal made from quality rescued produce that would otherwise have ended up in landfill, learn more about reducing waste, and pledge their commitment to #thinkeatsave.

GCCEC Executive Chef Garry Kindred said the latest initiative was a no-brainer for the Centre, which has gifted almost 5,000 meals to OzHarvest over the last 12 months.

“As a venue that welcomes more than 180,000 guests a year, it’s vital we continue to promote best practice and integrate sustainable solutions into our everyday business operations,” Mr Kindred said.

“While we make every effort to reduce food waste at the planning stage, we recognise that there are occasions where it’s beyond our control.

“Our decision to align with OzHarvest has effectively allowed us to contribute to saving the environment while simultaneously eliminating hunger and food waste through the redistribution of our excess food.”

OzHarvest Gold Coast Manager Lee Danahay said she was overwhelmed with the generous support from local businesses, not only for the event but in jumping on board as food donors since OzHarvest launched its Gold Coast operation just 18 months ago.

"We are rescuing on average 4,000 kilograms of quality surplus food every week. To think this food would otherwise be going to landfill and is now being delivered to people in need within our community is just incredible,” Ms Danahay said.

“We are so excited to be bringing Think.Eat.Save to the Gold Coast and can’t wait to interact with members of the public to raise awareness about the scale of food waste in our society."

Think.Eat.Save lunch events will be held simultaneously across the country on Monday 27 July 2015 to raise awareness and fight against food waste.

Lunch is free and everyone is invited so be sure to RSVP at http://thinkeatsave.ozharvest.org/ to secure your seat and sample some of our chef’s delicious dishes made from quality rescued produce at The 4217.